I slept surprisingly well. Yes, it was cold, and the wind and rain continuously slammed against the window, but I slept like a baby between the late-night visit with Jake and putting in headphones.

I was almost expecting a bright shining sun to greet me when I opened my curtains, but of course, a thick fog rolled passed the windows, obscuring everything to the point that I couldn't even see the tree right outside. I scrunched up my nose. Just the thing to ruin a good night's sleep.

With a sigh, I turned, catching myself in the full-length mirror across the room. Pictures from the last summer I was in Forks were plastered along the top. I considered myself, lips pursed. I look much the same — a bit taller, thinner, and maybe a bit tanner. I was still just as accident prone, the last picture on the mirror showing me with my arm around Jake's shoulders, my other encased in a blue and white cast. Honestly, I was lucky I could cast spells without taking an eye out. Well, at least I didn't have to worry about that much going to a muggle school.

A muggle school where there were a bunch of people who were, at the very least, wary of me. No, that's not true. It was likely to be a very awkward reunion. And I am all for avoiding those at all costs.

Even if all went well, how would I even be able to relate to these kids? It's been seven years. I wouldn't even know how to act at a normal school anymore. Wizarding or Muggle. If it was one thing I've learned, it's that I was obviously broken somehow— maybe the magic and non-magical parts of me were fighting so hard that there wasn't any energy to expend into other things. Who knew— the why didn't matter. What it caused did. There's no way that things will just go back to the way they were back then, and did I want them to? I couldn't say for sure.

I pushed those thoughts away and got on with my day.

Breakfast was quiet, besides Charlie asking where I had gotten to last night. I was an hour late getting home because I dropped Jake home. Charlie took it in stride. If I am with Jake, I can probably get away with a lot. I will have to remember that. It'll definitely come in handy.

Charlie was gone before I even finished breakfast to the police station that became his wife and child when we left. I looked around the kitchen, wrinkling up my nose. Everything was exactly as I remember it; maybe there was a new appliance here or there. It was dingier, yes, because Charlie was never good at cleaning, but other than that, it was like a monument to their failed marriage. The failed marriage that filled the house like a dementor, penetrating the very foundation that it lay on.

I caught sight of the fireplace in the living room and groaned. It was covered in a row of my school pictures. Every single one from Pre-K through 10th sat there in a perfect line. In fact, they were the only things that looked to be dusted with fair consistency, well, them and the TV. I haven't got my 11th-grade one yet, but as soon as it comes in from Curran, I am positive it will join the lineup. Maybe I could put an illusionment spell on them. Have it so that only Charlie can see them. There was no chance that I would convince him to put them in a less conspicuous part of the house, even temporarily.

I cleaned my bowl, and looked at my phone, 7:36, glared back at me from the small screen. I would get to the high school a bit early, but I was too nervous to stay home any longer. I put my wand and books in my bag, took my coat and went out into the rain. It was only drizzling, so I didn't get soaked on my way to the car, but my clothing and hair held an annoying semi-wetness feeling that I couldn't shake.

I was nervous, something I hate to admit. Admitting nervousness would amp up my anxiety, and no one wanted that. Many of the kids would want answers about where I'd been. It's normal. I did disappear for a significant amount of our youth. I would have to come up with a plausible explanation because if I didn't, they would, and I didn't want that. Knowing Jessica, she'd be the worst offender. She will ask a million questions until I got all tangled up in the details, and then would use that to create her own idea on what happened. Then, Lauren would feed that fire.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost drove right past the school. I was able to turn last second after spotting the 'Forks High School' sign. I never did map out the way last night, much too distracted catching up with Jake. I have been here before, I realised as soon as I saw the neat little buildings. In fact, the science labs in Building Two were where the accident happened. I was happy to see that it still lacked a metal fence, and I'll probably be saved from the metal detectors that I've seen in so many muggle movies. Unless there was a massive influx of junior crime-makers in Forks that Charlie didn't warn me about.

I parked in the parking spot adjacent to the first building, which had a small sign reading 'Front Office' above the door. No one else was parked here, so it was probably not allowed, but I decided to go get directions to the proper parking spots instead of driving around like a fool in the rain until others showed up.

I shut off the car, very unwillingly left the toasty cab and walked down the cobblestone path that lined the dark green, overgrown hedges. I paused at the door, hand on the knob, and took a deep breath before opening it.

Inside was very brightly lit, cheerful and much warmer than I had hoped. The office was small but big enough to hold a waiting area. The waiting area had orange folding chairs, an orange and beige carpet, and notices, flyers and educational posters that littered the walls to an unprecedented degree. Right smack in the back, between two windows, was a very large ticking clock. I am unsure how the workers keep from going crazy with the loud ticking that it makes. As if there was not enough green outside, plants grew in every uncovered inch of space in pots, both large and small. Wasn't there already enough green outside?

Between the windows and I was a large oak counter, cluttered with turquoise, pink and purple plastic baskets filled to the brim with paper and brightly coloured labels taped to their front. Only three chairs resided behind the counter, the closest of which held a large, red-haired woman with glasses. She wore a purple t-shirt which, considering her position in the school, made me feel overdressed. I stood awkwardly, waiting for her to look up from her dinosaur of a computer. If it had anything higher than Windows 95 on it. Finally, after what seemed like a decade, she looked up, "May I help you?"

"I am Isabella Swan," I said, almost wincing at the immediate awareness that lit up her face. She had been expecting me, perhaps more so because I was a topic of gossip rather than being notified that I was starting today. I was the daughter of the Chief's flighty wife, and I blew up the science lab, after all. I am almost certain she had been one of the adults running the camp back then.

"Isabella, of course." She walked over to the corner of the room where a filing cabinet stood, flicking through the files in it until she found the one she wanted. "I have your schedule and a map of the school right here. Although, I am sure you remember where the labs are." She said with a wink as she closed the cabinet with her hip and brought the papers over to me.

I snorted and shook my head. She kindly went through my classes with me, highlighted the best route to take to each one, and then gave me a slip for my teachers to sign, which I needed to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled warmly and welcomed me back to Forks before warning me to be careful around fire and chemicals. Funny.

By the time I left the building, other students were starting to arrive. Slowly, I drove around the school, happy that I could now follow the line of traffic to the student parking area. Most of the cars looked to be older, not as old as mine, but modest and nothing flashy. There was a nice shiny silver car, and it stood out like a sore thumb.

I wonder if that belongs to one of the Cullens? I thought idly as I cut the engine. Thankful to cut the noise before it drew the entire school's attention. Certainly, none of the kids I went to camp with could afford something like that unless things have changed that drastically since I was last in Forks. And wasn't that a laugh?

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. There was a vibration from the foot of the passenger's side, and I reached down to blindly look for it. I picked it the phone and frowned. It wasn't one I recognised. I flipped it open and said, "Mario's Pizzaria and Crematorium, your loss is our sauce. May I take your order?"

"Bwahaha!" I whipped my head around, glaring out my foggy, wet window. I could just make out the outline of Emmett Cullen breaking down into hysterics beside me in a red Jeep Wrangler.

"Bella, what the fuck?" Jake giggled on the other end of the line. "Can't you ever answer the phone like a normal person?"

"Why would I do that?" I asked saucily, flipping my hair over my shoulder. Emmett tapped on my window, and I motioned for him to get in the passenger side, removing my bag from the seat and putting it on my lap. "I'm guessing this is your phone, then?"

"Yeah, I must have dropped it when I got out of the car last night."

"Is that Jake?" Emmett asked, leaning over into my personal space.

I snickered and waved him away, "Yeah. He forgot his phone when I dropped him off last night."

"That's why he didn't call me!? I asked him to call me when he got home and let me know he was safe!" Emmett said, offended.

"You're not my mother!" Jake squawked in protest.

"I am! I'm Mama Emmy. You show me some respect!" Emmett yelled into the phone, pressing his chilly, damp face close to mine.

I rolled my eyes and put my hand on his forehead, pushing hard to get him back into his seat. "Get off me, you oaf! Jake, should I bring the phone over to your house after school?" I asked, glancing down at my school schedule to see what I had first. Before I could finish, Emmett took it from me and looked it over, muttering to himself. I tapped him on the shoulder and held out my hand in a gimme gimme motion, but he ignored me.

"No, we are meeting at your house for dinner tonight," he said after a moment. "Didn't Charlie tell you?"

"No. He's apparently forgotten that he doesn't live alone anymore," I said dryly.

Jake snorted. "Unlikely."

"Do you want to come over earlier? I know your dad doesn't get out of work until six."

"Yeah, I can have Sam drop me off before he goes to work at the farmstead. I'll bring my Switch and kick your ass in Mario Kart."

"Great, I'll see you then. Love you!"

"Bye, Bella. Love you too!"

I snapped the phone shut and reached around Emmett to put it in the glove compartment. I turned to him, tapping his thigh to get his attention. "Do you want to come to my place after school and play some Mario Kart?"

Emmett's wide eyes met mine before he tilted his head to the side, his expression darkening momentarily before falling back to a smile. "I'd love to, Bella!"

An excited squeal of "YES!" came from in front of the car. I squinted through the window to where a girl with short jet-black hair was jumping up and down excitedly and pulling on the arm of a boy with shoulder-length wavy blond hair and a lean muscular build. He was looking down at her, but it was difficult to tell if he was amused or annoyed at her antics from my position.

I double-checked that my wand was in my bag and pulled the keys from the ignition. The safer option, of course, would have been to leave it at home or at least in the car, but having it close by grounded me. It was Witch 101 to never leave your wand unattended. It was a part of you, after all.

Emmett was beside my door before I had a chance to completely step out and closed it behind me, waiting until I locked the car. "Do we share any classes other than AP Lit?"

He glanced down at the list in his hand. "Lunch."

The girl, reminding me entirely too much of the pixies in my magic textbooks, all delicate and flighty, skipped over to Emmett's side, hands behind her back as she glanced down at the schedule in his hand. "Boo, we don't share anything except Lunch, but you have Biology with our brother Edward. He's tall with bronze hair, can't miss him."

These must be two of Emmett's siblings, then.

"I share AP Lit with you and Emmett." The blond boy smiled tightly. "I'm Jasper Hale, Rosalie's twin." He said as an afterthought, almost as if he felt my confusion at his presence.

"Ah, the girl that picked Emmett up from the airport yesterday." I felt a spike of fear at the mention of Rosalie, and Jasper's face twitched. As suddenly as the fear had surfaced, it was gone.

"Yep," Jasper said with a short shrug.

"I feel for you," I murmured before turning back to the girl. "Sorry, I don't think I got your name?"

"Alice Cullen, do you want to have lunch with us?" She was jumping on the tips of her toes as she stared into my eyes, hopefully. I felt the pull to say yes, and immediately broke eye contact, staring at her left ear. It felt like she was trying to glamour me. The pull felt exactly like when my friend Griffin had been testing his on me.

"Alice," Jasper whispered, nudging her and shaking his head when she made eye contact with him. I wonder what that was about.

"Bella Swan, as I live and breathe!" Mike called, breaking me out of my thoughts before I could inspect them further.

I groaned, rolling my eyes at his sudden appearance. I slipped on the wet ground as I attempted to keep space between Mike and myself, and Emmett wrapped a strong arm around my waist to keep me from falling. He pulled me close, holding me against his side until he deemed me steady enough on my feet to be let go. Even then, he hovered close by, seeming to not trust my balance on the wet pavement. Probably a smart choice, given my history.

I held out a slightly shaky hand to keep Mike from getting closer. "Three-foot rule, Mike." I reminded him firmly.

"Still!? Bella, it's been seven years." He whined, throwing down his hands.

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow at him. "I can make a six-foot rule if you'd like? You know I don't like you touching me."

"But why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, Mike. Probably has something to do with you grabbing my breasts during 5th-grade summer camp."

"But they aren't even impressive. I wouldn't do that to you now."

I squinted and shook my head at him for several seconds. "Goodbye, Mike." I started towards Building Three and continued to shake my head. I could feel Emmett and Jasper behind me, with Alice breaking off from the group to go to Building Five. I waved to her and sighed irritably. "I fucking hate Mike Newton."

"Oh, but he is basically all of the entertainment we have," Emmett said with a pout, opening the door for me and Jasper.

"It's true," Jasper said from my left. He grinned at me, shaking his damp hair out of his eyes. "His on-and-off again relationship with Lauren Mallory is really all we have."

I touched my heart, eyelashes fluttering sarcastically. "You poor boys. How did you survive before I came along?"

Emmett snickered, rolling his eyes. He held open the door to the classroom and ushered me inside. "Mr Lewis is at his desk. You'll probably be put in the back with me and Jasper." He took my coat from me and placed it with his and Jasper's on the hooks on the left side of the room.

"Thanks, Emmett," I murmured, glancing around the classroom. I inwardly groaned when I realised that I did, in fact, know at least half the people in the room. What fun. I waved weakly at the few bright calls of 'Hey Bella!' before I quickly walked over to the tall, balding man at the front desk. "Morning, Mr. Lewis."

"Yes?" He looked up from the papers he was reading, eyeing me curiously.

"I am Isabella Swan, I start today."

He smiled welcomingly, "Ah, yes. I've heard about you." I blushed. That was never a good sign. "You can sit in the empty seat in the back, Isabella." He handed me the class syllabus, and I was on my way.

I hung my bag behind my seat and plopped down, glancing at the reading list. Bronte, Chaucer, Faulkner, Stoker— nothing I haven't read before. It'll be boring, but I should have an easy semester. I can probably recycle some of my old essays from Curran. I just need to check and see which parchments I still have. I made a note on the top corner to remind me to look for them this weekend.

About forty minutes into the period Emmett, sitting on my right, snorted at something in his hand before throwing it, opened, onto my notebook. I turned to him incredulously. "Did you just read a note that was meant for me!?" I hissed, poking him in the side. "That's not nice."

Jasper leaned over to read the note. I turned, slapping my hand over the paper to block his view. "Not you too, Jasper!"

He shrugged, his eyes hardening when he caught sight of something to the right of me. "I told you. There isn't much to do here."

I scoffed and lifted my hand. Lauren's girly, loopy handwriting greeted me. Stay away from Mike, Swan. I know what you're like.

I looked over at Lauren Mallory and stuck my finger into my mouth, pretending to retch.

"Bitch," Lauren muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

Emmett growled, and I pressed a hand to his forearm to calm him down. "Leave the angry shrew to stew. Why she thinks I would want Mike, of all people, I will never know." I must not have been as quiet as I thought because she turned to give me a nasty look.

The bell, a high-pitched squeal of a thing, saved me from having to look at her any longer. I packed up my books and happily took my coat from Emmett, flashing him a smile, "Thank you." I patted my pocket, looking for my schedule. "Em, you never gave me my schedule back!"

He shot me a grin, "I know." He motioned with his head towards the door. "I'm going to take you to your next class."

I turned to pout at Jasper, only to notice that he was no longer beside me. He waved from the door before disappearing into the crowded hallway. "Traitor!" I muttered, my eyebrows knitting at his responding laughter, but I wrote it off as a trick of the ears. There was no way he heard me from the hallway.

"Bella, how are you?"

I turned and smiled. "Eric!" I leaned in and allowed him to give me a hug. "I've been pretty good." I cocked my head to the side as I studied the boy in front of me. He was taller than me now and ganglier than when we were kids. His hair was much oilier, as was his skin. Puberty had not been kind to him. Underneath that was the same cute sweet boy that had been my friend.

"Hey, Cullen," Eric said with a smile at Emmett.

"Hey, Man. Doing well?" Emmett asked, leading us out of the classroom.

Eric sighed, "Other than my parents changing my medication again, yeah." He smiled ruefully at me. "I was finally diagnosed with Adhd, and they decided to medicate me." He paused for a minute, rolling his eyes. "I am wondering how long it'll take them to realise that it isn't the medication that's the cause of my frequent anger but them."

I snorted, "Good luck with that. It's rough about the medication. I'm sorry, I know what that's like." I hit his shoulder with mine.

"What are you gonna do?" He cocked his head to the side. "What class do you have next?"

"I dunno," I turned to Emmett and poked him. "Mr. Navigator. What class do I have next?"

"Government, Building Six," Emmett said, holding open the door for Eric and me. "You have art, right, Yorkie?"

"Yep," Eric said, pointing to the building we were about to pass. "I'll see you at Lunch, right, Bella?"

"Not if I am hiding in the Library!" I quipped, causing him to laugh.

He chuckled. "You never change, Swan." He waved, heading up the stairs to his art class.

"Why change perfection?" I called after his retreating back, causing him to snort.

I followed Emmett up the path. "Aren't you going to be late bringing me to class?" I asked him as I looked around at the buildings.

"Nah, I have Building Six too. I've Economics."

"Lucky, I'd give anything not to have Government again," I muttered.

"Wait until you take it 20 times," Emmett muttered. If I hadn't been listening closely, I would have missed it.

"What?" I asked, eyes widening in curiosity.

Emmett waved it off with a laugh "Nothing, just hyperbole."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't think you a man that uses hyperbole."

Emmett grinned, shoving me lightly towards my classroom. "I am a man of many surprises, Bella Swan." He waved at me, walking away to his class.

"Emmett, my schedule!" I called, catching up to him and grabbing his coat. "Come on. It's sweet, but you can't possibly show me around the entire day."

He pouted but reached into his pocket to pull out my schedule and gave it to me. "Fine," he said, long and exaggerated. "Guess I'll see you at Lunch."

"Thank you, Emmett." I waved him off and went to Government.

Thankfully, Mr Jefferson didn't make me talk in front of the class, and I was able to sit in the back in peaceful bliss, ignoring the various stares from classmates.

The only exception was Trigonometry, where Mr Varner, who I hated already on the principle of his teaching Trig, made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I tried to get out of it, arguing that every person in the class knew me except him, but he had none of it. So, I stammered and blushed and tripped over myself getting to my seat. It was a miracle that I didn't do any accidental magic.

Despite being an almost completely mature witch, I still did accidental magic when I became deeply anxious, sad, or angry. In fact, it was part of the reason why MACUSA determined I was an 'exposure risk' all those years ago. I'm much better now, obviously, but it does come out at times.

The last time I did accidental magic was during my Ancient Runes exam last May. I caused the room to shake and everything on the desks to fall on the floor. Luckily, other than a few glares from my classmates and the professor, we were able to get straight back to work. Funnily enough, if that hadn't happened, I would have been in Forks back in September. We are placed on a 7-month probationary period, and if we slip, it resets. For me, it was accidental magic that triggered the probationary periods, and that slip in May meant that I had to stay until after Christmas. As you may have guessed, it was the first time I ever made it 7 months without doing accidental magic, well, that they were aware of in any case.

Lauren, it seemed, was destined to be in all of my classes. She's easy enough to ignore now, but I could see it being a problem down the line. Hopefully, it doesn't come to blows like it did in 3rd grade when I sat on her back and shoved her face into the mud until she cried. The one reprieve was Spanish, although that class did have Jessica Stanley.

Jessica was someone I considered a frenemy. It's simply the way it's always been. I hung out with her, but didn't trust her as far as I could throw her, which, without my magic, was an extremely insignificant distance. She was quite two-faced, but only being in Forks for a few weeks in the summer, I hadn't exactly swimming in a viable pool of friends, and so I dealt with her. Interestingly, Jessica had not grown much and had stayed almost as tiny as she had been in fifth grade, although her hair did make up a good portion of the distance in our heights. It's probably where she held all the Forks High School gossip.

I will admit that I was thankful for her today, as she offered to take me to the Cafeteria. It was likely so that she could learn something to pass along to the other students, but still. I appreciated it either way.

"Bella!?"

I turned and looked around the cafeteria, trying to find the source of the voice. There, at the table with Emmett and his siblings, was Angela Webber. She was leaning down next to Alice, pointing to something in the notebook she held in her hand.

The notebook was forgotten on the table as she began to run up to me. "Angela!" I cried, meeting her halfway, hugging her tightly, squealing happily. Now, Angela, she was one of my absolute favourite people in Forks. Perhaps only below Jake, and it was a pretty close call.

She pulled away from me and grinned widely. "You look gorgeous. I've missed you so much."

"Me, have you seen yourself?" I asked breathlessly. I pulled her in for another hug as she blushed, stammering out denials of my statement. "I've missed you too."

"Yeah, kiss!" Mike hooted from where he was seated with Eric, Lauren, Trevor, Ben and Jessica. "Ow! Lauren, watch it."

I flipped him the bird and walked with Angela to the table where she had been talking to Alice. "We have to meet up this weekend!" Angela said, reaching down to take her notebook from Alice, looking down at her with a smile. "Alice, you can join us if you want."

Alice shot her a bright smile and gave a hurried nod of the head. I looked over my shoulder to where Lauren and Jessica were staring at us from their table. "Are the terrible duo going to be there?"

Angela peered around me at them and waved at them, wincing as she pulled back. "I'll try to keep it on the down low, but you know what Lauren is like. Dog with a bone, that one."

I barely heard her, wrapped up in how Mike was still staring at us. Slowly, almost without thinking, I started to walk towards Mike's table, with the intent of shoving Mike's face in his food, perhaps Lauren's too, if I could get away with it.

Before I could get more than a couple of steps, Angela grabbed my arm and pulled me back, causing me to trip over my feet. I pouted at her when I was finally back firmly on my feet. "Let me shove his face in his food just this once. One and done, never again." I held up one finger and gave her my best puppy-dog eyes.

"That's what you said before you poured your chocolate milk over his head during camp." Angela pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "You just got back, Bella. At least wait a week before you start shoving people's faces into places they don't belong."

"It would be SO worth it," I muttered, crossing my arms. She gave me a stern look, and I sighed. "Fine."

"Good, now give me your phone. I got a new number." I took my phone from my pocket and handed it over. She stared at it for a moment, considering the pin before typing in four numbers. She smiled triumphantly as the home screen appeared. She quickly replaced the old number with her new one and called her cell before handing it back to me.

"I'll text you both later, and we can make plans." She leaned over and kissed my cheek, giving me a one-armed hug. "I'm really happy you're back, Bella."

"Thank you, Angela."

Emmett slid closer to Rosalie and patted the spot on the bench beside him. I shook my head, waving him off, causing him to frown. "I'm going to the Library. I need a break from everyone." I smiled at him and Alice, noticing their disappointed frowns. "You'll see me after school," I reminded Emmett before turning to Alice. "Why don't you come with him?" I offered, and she considerably brightened.

"I'd love to!"

I looked over at Jasper, Rosalie and Edward, giving them a smile. "You three are invited too, of course."

"Oh!" Alice grabbed my sleeve so that I would look down at her. "You haven't met Edward yet, have you, Bella?" Alice said, blinking up at me with wide eyes.

"Oh, no, I haven't." I looked over, freezing when I met the eyes of the third brother. My heart clenched as fear shot through my body, and suddenly, the lightbulbs above the Cullen family exploded, showering them with glass.

Shit. I slapped my hand over my mouth to hide my shock. What a time for my powers to go haywire.

The Cullen family jumped up from their seats and brushed themselves off, allowing the broken pieces of glass in their hair and clothes to fall to the floor.

I went to grab napkins from where the students were lined up getting food and stopped, uncertainly, a few

feet away. My face was burning, and I had to force myself to train my eyes on them. "A-are you guys alright? Are

any of you hurt?"

"No, we are fine, Bella." Alice assured as she picked up her bookbag and shook it over the garbage can Jasper brought over.

I noticed Rosalie brushing herself off in my peripheral and quickly handed her some napkins. "Here, you don't want to get glass stuck in your hands." I raised my eyes up to the light fixtures that blew out. "Especially if they are old as they look, you could get an infection."

Emmett chuckled and shook his head over the garbage pail, sending bits of glass into the bin. I walked over to him and began to help him pick out the shards that got tangled in his curls. Alice was doing the same with Jasper.

I looked over Emmett's head to where Edward was accepting some napkins from Rosalie. "Are you okay, Edward?" He turned his gaze to mine, and I almost stepped back, his glare hard-hitting. His eyes were as dark as charcoal. My blood ran cold, and I had to quickly look away to keep my magic under control.

Jasper reached over and grabbed my wrist, squeezing it gently. I felt myself instantly relax. It was then that I realised what Jasper had done. Not just then but earlier in the parking lot also. Had I not spent so much time recognizing my emotions and reactions in counselling, I might not have ever noticed.

"Jasper, are you altering my emotions?" I asked quietly, causing them all to freeze.

"I—"

"It's fine, I won't say anything to anyone," I whispered back quickly, continuing to take pieces of glass from Emmett's hair. Alice relaxed and copied my motions on Jasper. "Just… thank you, but please try not to make a habit of it."

Jasper stood, smoothing down his hair as he studied me with a guarded expression. "Sorry, I just haven't felt that amount of anxiety in a while," he muttered after a moment before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Are you okay?"

Emmett stood up beside me, watching me with worried eyes. I nodded, "Yeah, I think so. First-day jitters."

Alice leaned into Jasper's side and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She turned her gaze to Edward, who was still glaring at me. "Edward, it's rude to stare."

He grimaced but looked down before stalking towards the kitchen staff— I assume to inform them of what happened so that they could get a janitor. I looked over the rest of the Cullens. They all seemed fine, if not a little confused about what happened with the lights.

I quietly helped them throw out their food and wipe down the table, waving Angela off when she texted me asking if we needed help. Once they were settled, I said my goodbyes and headed over to the Library. My skin itched with the need to get out of the spotlight.

The Library had wall-to-wall wooden shelving covering every inch of free space. On the far left wall was a projection screen, a projector hanging from the ceiling several feet away. There were posters, and student artwork, decorated above the shelves. Long wooden tables were scattered around the Library, with a wall of computers by the windows.

And there, hidden in a cove by the front desk, was the comfort station. The same teal chairs and thin blue and white couch sat atop a blood-red and beige rug that remained from when I used to hide in here during camp. I allowed myself to plop down on the couch, careful to keep my feet off and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

I fingered my phone and pulled it out.

Angela Webber - Tuesday, January 4th 12:07

B: What can you tell me about the Cullens?

A: Emmett, Edward and Alice are siblings. Jasper and Rosalie are twins. I think they are the niece and nephew of Doctor Cullen's wife. They were all adopted around ten years ago, I think…

A: Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett are seniors. Alice and Edward are juniors.

A: They moved here about two years ago.

B: Yeah, Jake said. He's friends with Emmett and one of the other brothers. Emmett seems cool. I met him on my flight from Chicago.

A: He's very sweet. Most of them are. Although Rosalie and Jasper can be a bit standoffish.

B: Rosalie scares me a bit, lol. Jasper seems kind enough. I have English with him and Emmett.

A: Alice is cool. I've done a few projects with her, very easygoing. Loves to shop. She can be a bit spacy at times but is a lot of fun to hang out with. I hope it's okay that I invited her to hang out this weekend.

B: Of course! It'll be nice to meet other girls that likely won't hate my guts, lol.

A: Don't worry about Lauren. You know the drill with her. All bark and no bite.

A shadow fell over me, and I looked up to Angela's amused face. "Like a chihuahua," I said blandly, pocketing my phone. "Lunch out already?"

"Mhm, thought I would walk you to Bio. I have it with you and Edward." She held out her hand, and I took it, allowing her to pull me up.

"Edward seems… interesting?" I said carefully. "For the entire minute, I met him."

Angela smiled. "He's very easy to talk to once you get to know him. He sometimes does his homework with me and Alice after school."

I huffed out a laugh. "He didn't seem too thrilled with me. He was glaring at me the entire time I was at the table."

"Hmm, that's odd. I don't think I've ever seen him do anything like that before." She bit her lip thoughtfully. "He does seem to get a lot of headaches when Jess is around, though."

"Shocker."

She snorted and hit my shoulder with hers. "Stop, Jess is nice."

"She has her moments," I said diplomatically. We stopped in front of the door to Bio II, and I peered inside. "Bio Lab, we meet again." It looks like they had to redo the entire thing. It looked nice, much better than the lab I had destroyed, at any rate.

Angela giggled and pushed me inside.

"Try not to blow this one up, Swan," Lauren said, pushing past us.

"Aww, but a chance to blow up a lab with you in it is a dream of mine," I said with a pout causing several students to snicker.

Angela shook her head at me, fighting the smile that was fighting to cross her face. She leaned close to me. "Just try to ignore her. She isn't worth it."

I sighed dramatically. "Fine, but only for you. Because to me, blowing her up would be totally worth it."

"I didn't hear that, Isabella." Mr Banner said as he walked past. He looked down at me and smiled, "You seem well."

"I won't blow up this one, Mr Banner," I promised. I bit my lip, revising my statement. "I'll try my hardest not to."

He gave me an amused roll of his eyes and took my slip, motioning for Angela to go to her seat. I followed him to his desk, accepting the slip and a textbook from him. "Thanks. Where would you like me to sit?"

He tapped the desk right in front of him. "So I can keep an eye on you," he said jokingly. I glanced up at the person sitting at the desk and nodded.

Of course, Edward Cullen would be sitting there.

I snorted, turning and tripping over the stack of books that he kept beside his desk. "Probably for the best." I muttered to him as I caught the table's edge, cursing as the edge bit into my palm. When I looked up, I met Edward's eyes. He was wearing the weirdest expression on his face— both curious and furious at the same time. Heh, that rhymed.

I scowled and looked away, willing my magic down from where I felt it sparking at my fingertips. I hadn't performed unwanted magic in almost a year, I wouldn't let Edward Cullen, of all people, make me trigger it twice in one day.

I straightened myself and placed my book on the table. I forced my eyes down and away from his glare, focusing instead on pulling out my spiral notebook and pencil case, sliding into the seat beside him but moving it as far to the right as I could. He seemed to have the same idea, pushing it as far left as he possibly could.

He did go a bit more, rather insultingly, far than I had. He started to lean away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his seat, and his face as if he smelt something terrible.

Well, I knew it couldn't possibly be me. Maybe he was just allergic to my shampoo? I shrugged and threw my hair over my shoulder, watching as he stiffened again. I sighed and reached around to tie my hair up so that it wouldn't fly around in the wind made by the fan by Mr Banner's desk.

He probably is had asthma if he is acting like that. Maybe I should get a lighter fragrance of shampoo at the convenience store tonight. I wouldn't want him to get sick because of me. "I'm sorry," I muttered to him, probably too low for him to hear, before I turned and looked at the notes for today. It wasn't my fault, of course, but I

still felt bad. If nothing else, we will be sharing a desk for the next six months, so I should make an attempt to be kind; otherwise, it'd be a long way towards the end of the year.

I huffed out a breath of relief when I caught sight of today's topic. Cellular Anatomy was something I had already studied. Still, I took careful notes both for lack of anything better to do and also, I was curious to see how much Curran got right. They were, ultimately, a wizarding school, and I had sat in on their joke of a Muggles Studies class before. For all I knew, they could have taught us all the wrong information.

I kept as far from Edward as possible with my leg pressed up against the side of the desk and body turned in an angle towards the door. Once bored with notetaking, Curran actually hadn't done a bad job, I leaned on my elbow closest to the outermost part of the tabletop and silently hoped I wouldn't cause myself to fall because of the position I was holding.

He never relaxed his position on the edge of his chair for the entire class. The hand on his leg was clenched tightly into a fist, tendons standing out against his pale skin. The petty side of me hoped that he would be stiff for the rest of the day. The ass.

I looked at the clock, scrunching up my nose and groaning. This class seemed to drag on forever. I don't know if it had anything to do with it being the end of the day or because I was waiting for him to finally loosen his fist. It never did, by the way, loosen, I mean. He continued to sit in that position, looking as if he wasn't breathing. I narrowed my eyes and studied his chest. He wasn't breathing. I counted to sixty in my head, and sure enough, he hadn't taken a breath in that entire time. "Yeah, not breathing looks real natural, idiot," I muttered under my breath.

I sighed and raised an eyebrow at him. He was glaring at me again, his eyes black and full of revulsion, but his chest started to rise and fall again. I moved to my previous position— the furthest possible spot from him and glared back. I held back from childishly sticking my tongue out at him, just barely.

At that moment, the shrill bell rang across the classroom. "Finally," I muttered to myself, slamming my notebook shut as Edward Cullen rose from his seat. I watched as he flew out of the room before anyone else had left their seats. Not nearly as small as he looked next to Emmett and Jasper. I noted. Stupid fast, though.

I breathed heavily through my nose and stood up, kicking the chair beneath the lab table. I pressed my hands to the tabletop and closed my eyes, pushing down my anger when the telltale signs of tears began to fill my eyes. I was NOT going to cry over Edward Cullen, of all people. Was he rude? Absolutely. But that had nothing to do with me.

"Bella, what do you have next?" Mike sauntered beside me, and I took a step back to keep the distance between us.

"Gym," I said shortly.

"That's my class too!"

"Wonderful."

Despite my better judgement, I walked with Mike to class. It had the bonus of pissing Lauren off, so there was that. "So, did you stab Cullen with a pencil? I've never seen him act like that before."

"A pin, actually. Leaves less of a mark." I said, shooting him a smile. This was the second time someone said that Edward's behaviour towards me was abnormal. Maybe I'll ask Emmett about it later.

Mike laughed. "He did look like he was in pain."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I just thought he was a jerk to everyone or had anger issues."

There was an elegant snort behind Mike and me, causing us to turn. Alice was walking behind us. She was looking down at the phone in her hands, making no indication that she had heard us but was biting her lip to contain a smile.

"He is a bit weird," Mike said in a quieter voice to keep Alice from hearing us. He gave a pointed look at the small girl as she walked past us. "They all are. I would have talked to you had I been lucky enough to be given you as a lab partner."

Small miracles. I would take Edward any day over Mike.

Another miracle, Coach Clapp, the gym teacher, had found me a uniform but did not make me dress for today's class. I wasn't good at muggle sports. I was good on a broom. Brooms bypassed my brain-to-feet coordination issues. Muggle sports didn't have brooms, though, and thus, were my personal nightmare. Maybe I could get my old counsellor to write me a doctor's note excusing me. Surely being severely clumsy was a psychological issue of some sort?

I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously from my spot on the bleachers. I chuckled darkly as a girl was hit in the face, flashing back to the many injuries— both sustained and given— in Quidditch class. Truth be told, my brain and hand coordination weren't much better than my brain-to-foot coordination.

At last, the final bell rang. Slowly, so as not to trip on the bleachers, I made my way outside to the Main Office to return my signed paper. The rain had cleared up, but the wind was stronger and colder than earlier. I wrapped my arms around myself and breathed a sigh of relief when I walked into the warm office, and then I almost turned straight back around and walked back into the cold.

Edward Cullen stood over the front desk and had not yet seemed to notice my entrance. I took a calming breath and forced myself to stand against the wall near the front door to wait for the receptionist to be free.

He was arguing with her in a low voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to move his 6th-period Biology class to another period. "Any other period, I don't care which one."

"I am sorry, Edward. There is just no more space in any of the other Bio II classes."

"I can take a different science class then. I'll test out of Bio II." He urged, keeping eye contact with her and honeying his voice.

Give me a freaking break. I rolled my eyes for what seemed like the 100th time that day. There is no way that this could all be about me. There had to be something else, something that happened before I entered Biology.

The door burst open, allowing the freezing wind to burst into the room, ruffling all of the papers on the walls and counter. The girl who came in walked quickly past me, placed the attendance folder into the wired basket beside Edward and walked out.

As the door slammed shut, I turned towards him, noticing him stiffening with the incoming breeze. I thought nothing of it until he turned slowly towards me to glare— his dumb face so full of hate that it struck my very soul. In that instant, a strike of fear curled in my stomach just as it had with Rosalie the last night and him earlier in the Lunchroom. It took all of my strength not to pull out my wand on him. To defend myself against— what exactly, some haughty teenage boy? I shook my head and trained my features into something resembling a glare, letting him know that I will not allow myself to be intimidated. He turned back to the receptionist.

"Never mind, then," he said, voice filling with frustration. "I can see that it is impossible. Thank you so much for your help." He quickly turned on his heel and flashed past me, disappearing out the door.

"Have a good day, Edward!" I called behind him, snickering as he sped up.

I tutted and walked over to the desk, handing over the signed slip.

"How was your first day?" the receptionist asked kindly.

I shrugged, giving her a small smile. "Fine."

She looked at me dubiously but smiled back and waved me off.

I sighed in relief when I got into my truck. The parking lot was practically deserted at this point. A few stray cars here and there littered the otherwise empty space. The emptiness in the parking lot allowed me a few minutes to just sit in my car and think, meditate the anger away just as I was taught.

I closed my eyes and tried to empty my mind, breathing slowly in through my nose and out through my mouth. Upon feeling my heartbeat slow, I opened my eyes and allowed myself to stare at nothing in particular for a little bit before I turned the key allowing the engine to roar to life.

Jake's phone buzzed from inside the glove compartment. I flipped it open, noticing that he had a text from Emmett Cullen. I wouldn't normally go through Jake's phone, but the preview showed that the text had been directed to me. Right, I hadn't given Emmett my number.

Emmett Cullen- Tuesday, January 4th 2:23 PM

E: Bella, what's your address?

B: 290 King Richards Way

E: Be there in about 30 minutes. Need to drop Rose home first. Jaz and Alice will be coming.

B: See you in a bit

Right. I had company coming over. I would not let Edward Cullen ruin my day. I couldn't change how he acted towards me, but I could control my own actions. And he was not someone to lose control over.

~o0o~

"We ready, Bella?" Jake asked. He gave a cry of success as the HDMI cable finally connected to the television, and the Switch home screen popped up on the screen.

He plopped down on the floor in front of the couch by the coffee table. He reached into the plate of salami, cheese and crackers for a snack before grabbing his own switch and laying it on his lap, waiting while Emmett set up the game. Emmett wound up bringing his switch and enough controllers for four of us to play, so Jake decided to use his personal one while the rest of us played on Emmett's.

"One minute!" I called from the kitchen as I bent down to check on the lasagna in the oven. I had a good forty minutes before it would be done. The rest of the meal, minus the garlic bread, was already done and in the pots on the stove.

I plopped down on the couch behind Jake and folded my legs under me, accepting the controller Emmett handed me. Jake pressed the back of his head to my legs as he shifted to get comfortable on the floor.

Ignoring him, I squinted at the screen, trying to decide who I wanted to pick. "How many new characters are there!?" I scrolled down, eyes widening. "I know I've been out of the Nintendo loop for a while, but I didn't think it had been that long. There's like… thirty-five characters here!"

"Oh, right. You haven't played since before you left for Curran. They've added a lot more characters." Jake said with a laugh. He took a sip of his soda and shrugged.

"Who the fuck is Wendy!?"

"Wendy was in the Nintendo DS and WiiU versions," Emmett explained as he moved his red cursor along the bottom. "These here are all Bowser's kids."

"Bowser's kids?" I said eyebrows knitted. "I thought he only had eyes for Peach? Wasn't that the entire premise of the Mario games?"

"He's been busy," Alice said with a huff. She was sitting on the floor between Jasper's legs. "Who is that one?"

"Morton?" Jasper said, a small frown on his face.

"I do not trust Morton," Emmett said with a shake of his head. He jostled me as he moved to lean back on the couch, causing me to tip towards him. "That man gives off serial killer vibes."

"He looks like Cubone from Pokemon," I said after a moment. "If Bowser and Marowak boned."

Alice chose Roy. "C'mon Ray, we'll go shopping."

"I have always been a Bowser guy, but now I'm looking at all these children, and I am like 'Yo, what's going on?'" Emmett said. "I'm gonna go, Golden Mario."

"Oh, that's a good call, Emmett. I didn't know you could make them gold," Jake said with a grin. He frowned when he realised that not all of them could be gold.

He caught me debating between the characters and sighed heavily. He was used to my indecision. "Bells, just choose the one you think looks— no, I wanted Dry Bones, Bella!" He whined, turning his puppy dog eyes on me

"Come on, Jake, you are holding us up," I said, nudging him with my good. Jasper had been sitting patiently, waiting for us all to choose, an amused expression on his face. I had been worried he was feeling awkward, but he seemed to relax as we got settled into the game.

"Iggy kinda slaps," Jake said after a second and selected the green-haired character.

The screen switched over to the car selection. "Holy shit, are those official Mercedes tires!?" Emmett said, reaching over and grabbing Jasper's shoulder, shaking him. "Dude, I forgot my phone in the car. Take a picture and send that to Edward and Ro'. They'd get a kick out of this."

"Does Mercedes pay for this?"

Jake shrugged. "Probably."

"Or is they getting paid?"

"Is they getting paid?" Jasper asked gleefully, and I took the pillow from behind my back. I leaned a hand on Emmett's thigh to give me the leverage to reach over and hit him over the head with it.

There was a brief pause before Alice, Emmett, and Jasper started bursting out into laughter. "Oh god, no one has been able to hit him like that in years!" Alice squealed, ducking with Jasper lightly hit her over the head with the pillow before flinging it back over to me. I caught it, but I still managed to hit myself in the face with it, causing them to laugh again. I giggled and threw it back behind me.

"Okay," Emmett said, flicking through the options. "No teams, normal items. Let's start with just bananas to get Bella accustomed to the game."

"I can't believe I have to look at this itty bitty screen. This is blasphemy!" Jake complained, squinting down at the game system in his hands.

"Sucks to be you," I said blandly, shoving against his shoulder with my socked foot.

"Let's go, bitches!" Emmett cheered.

"Let's go!" Alice cheered, leaning closer to the screen before pressing back against Jasper's legs.

"First banana has landed!" Jasper said.

"Oh, my god. So many freaking bananas!" Jake huffed after running into one for the tenth time, throwing himself back against my legs.

"Well, this is an all-banana run." I said lightly, refusing to take my eyes off the screen. I wasn't doing as bad as I thought. I was fourth, and Jake was fifth. So, I wasn't last.

"I got banana'd," Emmett complained, leaning into me with a huff. I leaned my head against the top of his but refused to let him distract me. Jasper was only slightly ahead.

I cheered as I passed Jasper. "Peace out, little bitch baby!" I laughed, biting my lip from laughing harder at Jasper's outraged look in my direction. "I love my car. I'm just gliding through these bananas."

"There are too many bananas!" Jake said, throwing himself forward to lie on his stomach. "There's just too many."

"I won!" Alice cheered, clapping her hands.

"Get a real banana. By the time you get back, we'll be done," I muttered, causing her to giggle.

"I just got boned," Emmett groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

Despite Emmett's complaints, he ultimately won the other three races putting him in first place. Oh, I wouldn't be able to let this slide. Especially since I wound up in fifth. I will avenge myself.

"Blue shells and bullet bills," he said, setting up the next rounds.

"Blue shells hit the first-place player, stalling them. Bullets allow you to rocket past players," Jasper explained, likely feeling my confusion.

I nodded thoughtfully, thinking back to when I last played. "Right. I think I remember those."

"Looks like we are going to Berlin," Emmett said with a grin.

"We're studying abroad," Jake said in a bad imitation of a German voice.

"Bye!" Emmett yelled, jumping up to his feet as his fingers smashed at the buttons.

"How'd you move so fast!?" I asked, watching in awe as Emmett shot in front of all of us.

"I'm in a Mercedes, duh."

"That's true, you might be paying to win right now," Jasper said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees as he focused on the screen. "You're in an official Mercedes."

I released a blue shell, hitting Emmett, causing him to groan and Alice to cheer. It had allowed her to pull in front of him and be first.

"That's right, fuck him up, Bella!" Alice cheered, getting up on her knees as she frantically moved her fingers over her controller.

"Wait, shit, you can hit other those other cars!?" Jake growled. "Imma bump into a car wreck!"

"This doesn't feel like Berlin. It feels like America." I watched as Jake bulleted past several people on the screen.

"Jake, how did you get a bullet?" Jasper asked, outraged.

"Here's my bullet!" I hit it and rushed past Alice, Jasper and Jake, putting me firmly in second place. "Our bullets are touching!" I said to Emmett, hitting him lightly on the arm.

"Kinky," Jake said with a snort. He winced and groaning when I slammed my heel into his butt. "Ow, Bella!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." Emmett groaned as I hit another bullet and rocketed past him just at the finish line, putting me in first.

"When you're on fire like this, it feels incredible!" I said, standing up on the couch and jumping from foot to foot. I suddenly passed the finish line, securing my spot in first place. I gasped. "I'm in first! That was fucking crazy!" I said, squealing. I sat back down, crossing my legs. "Ten minutes ago, I didn't even know what a bullet blew shells blue, and now, bitches." I slapped my lap and giggled. "Now, I rule."

"Good job, Bella," Emmett said, patting me on the knee.

The front door opened, and Charlie came in. He stopped, staring at the living room, perplexed. "Erm, hello."

"Hello, Chief Swan!" Alice said, standing up and dancing over to him. "Bella invited us over to play Mario Kart with her and Jake!"

Charlie grinned at her. "We are very happy to have you… Alice, is it? Carlisle's daughter?"

She nodded and pointed over her shoulder. "You know my brother Emmett and Esme's nephew, Jasper."

Emmett and Jasper walked up to him and shook his head. Emmett grinned, "Hi, Chief Swan."

"Keeping out of trouble, Emmett?" Charlie asked playfully.

"Since you saw me yesterday?" Emmett asked with a raised eyebrow. "Even I'm not that bad."

Jasper snorted at that, reaching over to shake Charlie's hand. "Thank you for allowing us over, Chief Swan." He froze before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "We actually best get going. Carlisle and Aunt Esme are expecting us for dinner."

I huffed slightly as Alice threw herself into my arms, hugging me slightly tighter than was strictly necessary around my waist. I hugged her back and patted her back. "Just a bit lighter, Alice." I gasped out. Taking a step back once she let me go.

"Sorry," She said sheepishly. "I'm used to hugging the boys."

"Haha, don't worry about it," I said, squeezing her shoulder. I leaned over and allowed Emmett to pull me into a hug. He was much gentler. Almost too gentle. Almost as if he had been overcompensating for Alice's hug. "Have a good night. See you tomorrow."

He reached to pull Jake in a hug, and I moved to Jasper, giving him a fist bump when he raised his hand. "Thank you so much for coming, Jasper."

"Thank you for inviting me," he nodded his head. "I had a lot of fun."

"I'm glad. It's an open invitation."

"I really appreciate that."

Car lights flashed through the window, and he froze. "We better go."

After a final hug from Emmett and Alice, they were out the door. Coats and bags pulled on as the three of them scrambled down the front porch and into Emmett's Jeep.

Charlie was looking at me, smiling.

"What?" I asked defensively, crossing my arms over my chest.

"That was really sweet of you to invite them over. Carlisle was telling me that they struggle with making friends."

"I don't see why. They're cool." I shrugged my shoulders, keeping my thoughts on Edward to myself. "Does that mean you don't mind them coming over more often?"

"As long as you are happy, Bells… Jake, come and help me with your father's chair."

Billy was in rare form tonight. Something had obviously been bothering him, but instead of voicing it, he ripped into Jake about his Math grades. He struggled greatly with math— number sense and the like. In fact, he had an Individualized Education Plan to help him, but it didn't seem to do him much good. Whether it was due to a lack of resources or if the plan simply didn't outline what was needed for him to succeed, I didn't know.

"Dad, I studied for hours even my friends helped me. I tried my best."

"Well, your best isn't good enough, is it, Jake?" He asked cuttingly.

"Excuse me." Jake pushed back from the table, and I sighed heavily before following him. Giving Charlie a significant look before I went. Maybe he could talk some sense into Billy.

Jake had ended up in my room, his face smashed into my pillow. I sighed and rubbing his shoulder, "Jake. Come on. You know he didn't mean it."

"I'm so stupid." The venom in his voice, the self-hatred, was evident. "I studied with Emmett and Jasper for like three weeks, and I still couldn't get a passing score. I'm such a failure." It was heartbreaking.

"How close did you get?" I asked. His last test grade had been a 32, as long as he got even a bit higher, I could show him that studying was paying off. Just not as quickly as he thought.

"10%," he spit out.

Well, fuck.

"Stupid thing was 20% of my grade. On top of my quizzes, I barely passed the damn class. I should just drop out." He didn't mean it. He never did. "There is no way I will be able to pass next semester."

"I'm really sorry, Jake. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be."

"Thanks, Bells," He sighed before flipping over onto his back. He ran his fingers through his hair, pulling roughly at the roots. An anxious habit he picked up from his father after the death of his mom.

I leaned down and pressed my lips to his cheek. I toppled over, falling into his chest. He huffed out a laugh and hugged me to him, hiding his face in my neck. I could feel him shaking, trying to suppress the sobs building up in his chest.

"Jake," I said sadly, hugging him as tightly as I could from my awkward position. "It's going to be okay." But would it? I couldn't say for sure. Every year, so many kids got left behind, and despite how much Jake was trying, it seemed like he was teetering on the edge of being another special education statistic.

"I don't know what to do anymore," he admitted to me, his voice so quiet I could hardly hear him.

I rolled over him until I was lying beside him on the bed and pulled on his sleeve until he rolled over onto his side and pressed his head to my shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and I laid my cheek against the top of his head, my fingers stroking the silken locks. The last time we laid like this, his mother had just died. I could feel wetness running down my shoulder, but I ignored it. He would hate me for bringing it up.

"We will figure this out," I promised. I didn't know how, but I would figure out a way to help him. He was brilliant, really, but his confidence in school was quickly fading. He just didn't put the effort in anymore— he saw no reason to if he couldn't pass math. He could score perfectly across the board, but there would be no graduating if he didn't have his math credits.

Even with his accommodations of graphic organizers, extra time, passing scores lowered to 55%, and use of a calculator— he just couldn't seem to get there, and when he did— it was a brief victory before he lost it again.

I remember a time when he was in 3rd grade, and I re-taught him what multiplication was. We had worked on them for a week, and he seemed to be getting it. Then the weekend had come and went, and the next time we met, he couldn't even recall what multiplication was. I had cried that day, not in front of Jake— never in front of him when it had to do with him— it was then that I realised just how badly my brilliant friend, my own little personal sunshine, was suffering.

I don't know how long we lay there, wrapped up tightly in each other's arms, Jake crying into my shoulder, but the next thing I knew, it was pitch black, the full moon offering the only light, and the house was silent. I groaned and shifted, glancing at my alarm clock. 2:56 glared back at me in the darkness.

We must have fallen asleep, and our fathers decided it best not to bother us. It used to happen all the time. It's good to see that some things never change. I pushed myself up on an elbow and looked down at him, just taking him in. He was truly beautiful and would only get more handsome as he matured: He had dark twinkling eyes set deep above the high planes of his cheekbones with thick long eyelashes that brushed against his cheeks when he blinked or closed his eyes. He was tall and lanky, but he would fill out soon; I could tell by how much broader his shoulders were getting. His skin was beautiful, silky and russet-coloured— something I have voiced jealousy over to him numerous times. He would merely roll his eyes every single time and tell me that no one would ever be as beautiful as I was. Hah, yeah, okay. He was set to break a lot of hearts.

With a heavy sigh, I dropped back down and snuggled closer to Jake, freezing when he moved to kick the blanket out from under us and threw it over me. I must have woken him up. With a sigh, I slid down, pressing my head into his chest and hiding beneath the warmth of the blanket. Jake pressed his lips to my forehead and pressed himself closer to me.

I was halfway between awake and asleep when I heard a soft thumping. It was a whisper of a sound. My heart sped up as I scanned my room through blurry, squinted eyes, looking for the source of the noise. I didn't see anything and was about to relax back onto the bed when the movement of my curtains caught my eye. I looked at them, frowning. My window was closed, so they shouldn't have been moving— and they weren't now. Deciding that it was just my imagination, I shrugged and turned into Jake's warmth, breathing in his earthy scent. It was late and I was tired; my mind was just playing tricks on me.

I would love to hear what you think! Questions, Comments and Concerns are always welcome, constructive or otherwise.

Keep it classy, make good choices, and I will see you soon!br /

Chandlure